The one thing you have to keep in mind is from the top of the backswing to the finish is a non-stop fluid motion. When the golf club starts down there is no slowing down or stopping of the club head. Many things take place during the downswing and they all have to be in sync with one another to make for solid impact.
Ninety-five percent of the final part of the swing (moment of impact to finish) is a result of you swinging the golf club from the address position to the top of the golf swing correctly. If you get the golf club in the correct position at the top of the backswing, you will up your chances of hitting a solid golf shot.
Let’s take some time and discuss what takes place from the moment of impact to the finish. I will break it down into two sections. First, what happens to the golf club and secondly, what happens to the body.
Clubface 2 Degrees Closed
Clubface Continuing to Close to Finish
Let me share something with you right now. If I asked you what you think you have to do to hit the golf ball further I am afraid your first response will be the same as most of the golfing world. Swing harder. Yes, that is a start, however; the clubhead speed must be properly applied.
The ability to have the clubhead make solid contact with the golf ball with maximum speed is the combination of the golf club, arms, and hands moving in concert with the upper and lower body. This combination is referred to in golf as “timing”. Simply put, the most abused word in golf. Everybody uses it and not too many people know how to do it.
At the moment of impact the knees are in the same position as impact. Yes, the left knee moved away from the golf ball towards the center of your stance.
Left Knee Returns to Address Position
Right Knee is Moving Parallel
When the club reaches the point after impact where it is parallel to the ground and pointing parallel to the target line, the left hip is behind you, the left knee is almost fully extended and the right knee has passed where the golf ball was on the ground. At this position, the body is moving at maximum speed and it will soon begin to slow down as it approaches the finish.
When the golf club passes through the 9:00 position the upper body will begin to straighten out with the right shoulder turning to the top and the shoulders will soon become level to the ground.
From the moment of impact, the top of your belt must remain level to the ground all the way until you have reached the finish. The shoulders will react the same way from the moment of impact all the way to the finish. The feeling you want is for the right shoulder to remain an inch higher and when turning to the finish, level to the ground.
When the golf club and your body has stopped turning your right heel is pointing toward the sky, your right knee is pointing to a parallel line with your target, your belt buckle will point towards the target and level to the ground, your body is tall and the shoulders are level to the ground. If your upper body is facing left of the target that is acceptable.
This concludes the brief look at the complexities of the golf swing. As you can see, the material covered here is class act stuff. If you want to take your game to the next level, honing the golf swing to a level that will provide you consistency and power, the The Full Swing is a full-fledged swing tutorial that takes you through every step of the golf swing in much greater detail than we covered here in the last 5 weeks.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the Golf Swing Series as much as I enjoyed posting and sending it to you. And I sincerely hope you’ve gotten some tip or nugget from these articles to help you in your never-ending quest for improvement.
-Dan
